Australian Communist Party of Australia v The Commonwealth: Histories of Australian Legalism

Abstract

In this article I structure legalism as a device to interpret how 1951 is remembered in law, in order to show what legal orthodoxies meant in their own time, and how that shifts to a different form of legalism in our own. In doing so, I will argue that the idea of legalism famously produced by the High Court judgment in 1951 has shifted its meaning as much as the ideological support of and opposition to communism that were expressed in the case. I will suggest that this history requires conscious incorporation in the commemorative narratives of ‘democracy vs. communism’.     

Is ‘white nationalism’, nationalism?

Are ‘white nationalists’ really nationalists? This label is one that right-wing, white activists themselves have chosen, and as such, compels rigorous investigation to avoid simply adopting the preferred nomenclature of these activists and their ambitions. The nation and nationalism are concepts with rich scholarly histories, and this paper seeks to examine the discussion, activities and statements of so-called white nationalists in light of this literature. We argue through a three-fold concept of the nation—based on territoriality, population and symbolic and/or cultural content—that the vision of the political community and ambitions of these activists falls short of the standard of a nation and that their aspirations do not conform to what the literature lays out as nationalism. We argue, therefore, that using the language of ‘white nationalism’ to describe these groups obfuscates and sanitises their motives and lends undue legitimacy to their standing in public discourse.     

Interdependence among egalitarian societies

Egalitarian societies are rarely entirely self-sufficient for subsistence. The conditions fostering interdependence, however, have yet to be studied systematically. Utilizing ecological models, this research analyses the process by which interdependence involving food resource sharing and exchange develops among egalitarian societies. Two distinct types of interdependence are defined: buffering, which alleviates periodic food shortages, and mutualism, in which complementary foods (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins) are exchanged on a regular basis. The utility of these models is then evaluated using ethnographic data. The article concludes with a discussion of the evolutionary trajectories of interdependent egalitarian systems.     

Book reviews

Women and Revolution in Iran. Edited by Guity Nashat. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1983. 301 pp.

Religion and Politics in Iran: Shi'ism from Quietism to Revolution. Edited by Nikki R. Keddie. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983. x + 225 pp. $27.50. (cloth), $8.95 (paper).

The Persians amongst the English, Episodes in Anglo‐Persian History. By Denis Wright. London: I. B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., 1985.

Iran under the Safavids. By Roger M. Savory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980.     

Australian approaches to countertrade: State and firm responses

Countertrade (or barter trade) has become an important element of the international political economy in the past 15 years, and is said to typify the emergence of neo‐mercantilist tendencies in the international system. The implications for Australia arising from this alteration in the ‘rules of the game’ with respect to the international system are profound. This article explores how the Australian government, and Australian‐based firms, have responded to the emergence of countertrade. We demonstrate that in the absence of government leadership on the issue, firms have developed their own coping mechanisms of dealing with countertrade.     

Book reviews

Young Whan Kihl and Peter Hayes (eds), Peace and Security in Northeast Asia. The Nuclear Issue and the Korean Peninsula. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1996. xvi + 491 pp. US$74.95 (cloth).

Dae Hwan Kim and Tat Yan Kong (eds), The Korean Peninsula in Transition. London: Macmillan, 1997. xiv + 269 pp. £40.00 (cloth).

Desmond Ball, Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) in South Korea. Canberra: Canberra Papers on Strategy and Defence No. 110, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, 1995. 83 pp. $15.00 (paper).

Suisheng Zhao, Power By Design: Constitution‐Making in Nationalist China. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1996. xii + 217 pp. US$37.00 (cloth).

Frederick C. Teiwes and Warren Sun, The Tragedy of Lin Biao: Riding the Tiger during the Cultural Revolution 1966–1971. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1996. 251 pp. US$30.00 (cloth).

Paul J. Bailey, Postwar Japan: 1945 to the Present. Oxford: Blackwell, 1996. xv + 208 pp. $22.95 (paper).

Ralph Pettman, Understanding International Political Economy: With Readings for the Fatigued. Boulder, CO and London: Lynne Rienner, 1996. xiv + 257pp. US$19.95 (paper).

Cal Clark and K.C. Roy, Comparing Development Patterns in Asia. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1997. ix+ 198 pp. US$45.00 (cloth).

David Wall, Jiang Boke and Yin Xiangshuo, China's Opening Door. London: The Royal Institute of International Affairs, International Economics Programme, 1996. 150 pp. £15.95 (paper).

Hal Hill, The Indonesian Economy since 1966. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. xx + 327 pp. No price given.

Joseph R. Blasi, Maya Kroumova, Douglas Kruse, foreword by Andrei Shleifer, Kremlin Capitalism: Privatizing the Russian Economy. Ithaca, NY and London: Cornell University Press, 1997. xix + 249 pp. US$42.50 (cloth) US$16.95 (paper).

Ron Edwards and Michael Skully (eds), ASEAN Business Trade and Development: An Australian Perspective. Melbourne: Butterworth Heinemann, 1996. xviii + 356 pp. $45.00 (paper).

Richard Robison (ed.), Pathways to Asia: The Politics of Engagement. St Leonards: Allen & Unwin, 1996. xvii + 270 pp. $24.95 (paper).

Edwin E. Moise, Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1996. xviii + 304 pp. US$39.95 (cloth).

Peter Edwards, A Nation at War: Australian Politics, Society and Diplomacy during the Vietnam War, 1965–1975. St Leonards: Allen & Unwin in Association with the Australian War Memorial, 1997. xx + 460 pp. $59.95 (cloth).

Meg Gurry, India: Australia's Neglected Neighbour? 1947–1996. Brisbane: Centre for the Study of Australia‐Asia Relations, Griffith University, 1996. 105 pp. $18.00 (paper).

Sandy Gordon, Security and Security Building in the Indian Ocean Region. Canberra: Canberra Papers on Strategy and Defence No. 116, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, 1996. 243 pp. $24.00 (paper).

David Stevens (ed.), In Search of a Maritime Strategy: The Maritime Element in Australian Defence Planning since 1901. Canberra: Canberra Papers on Strategy and Defence No. 119, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, 1997. xviii + 252 pp. $24.00 (paper).

Helen Hookey and Denny Roy (eds), Australian Defence Planning: Five Views from Policy Makers. Canberra: Canberra Papers on Strategy and Defence No. 120, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, 1997. xiv + 71 pp. $15.00 (paper).

Carl G. Jacobsen, The New World Order's Defining Crises: The Clash of Promise and Essence. Aldershot, Hants: Dartmouth, 1996. 124 pp. £37.50 (cloth).

Douglas T. Stuart and William T. Tow, Security Policy in the Asia‐Pacific: A US Strategy for a New Century? Griffith University: Centre for the Study of Australia‐Asia Relations, Australia‐Asia Papers, No. 76, 1996. xiv + 52 pp. No price given.

Stanley R. Sloan, NATO's Future: Beyond Collective Defense. Washington, DC: INSS McNair Paper No. 46, 1995. 73 pp. No price given.

John M. Shields and William C. Potter (eds), Dismantling the Cold War: U.S. and NIS Perspectives on the Nunn‐Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. Cambridge, MA: CSIA Studies in International Security, MIT Press, 1997. 426 pp. $39.95 (paper).

William F. Martin, Ryukichi Imai and Helga Steeg, Maintaining Energy Security in a Global Context. A Report to the Trilateral Commission No. 48. New York: The Trilateral Commission, 1996. xiv+ 117 pp. No price given.